RPG Maker VX Ace is the latest and greatest engine in the RPG Maker series, improving on every aspect of creating your very own epic adventure. The most powerful editor yet, Ace supports multiple tilesets, offers full control over autoshadow and has a very flexible features system.

January 11

We've been hard at work with the team over at Vagabond Dog on porting their RPG Maker game "Always Sometimes Monsters". To celebrate the launch of the Mac and Linux ports Steam is featuring ASM as their deal of the day!

January 11

We've been hard at work with the team over at Vagabond Dog on porting their RPG Maker game "Always Sometimes Monsters". To celebrate the launch of the Mac and Linux ports Steam is featuring ASM as their deal of the day!

About This Software

Simple Enough for a Child. Powerful Enough for a Developer.

RPG Maker VX Ace is the latest and greatest engine in the RPG Maker series, improving on every aspect of creating your very own epic adventure. The most powerful editor yet, Ace supports multiple tilesets, offers full control over autoshadow and has a very flexible features system.

Ace gives you all the tools you need to make that game you’ve always dreamed of, including the following features:

• A powerful map editor to build your world.
• A database to track your characters, skill, equipment and more, all improved with the powerful new flexible Features system.
• New event options, including support for Ogg Theora video.
• An expansive set of default resources, including a built in character generator to create your own sprites and faces.

Key Features

Simple, Powerful Tools RPG Maker VX Ace brings powerful new tools to the table to enhance your RPG-making potential. None of the previous engines can match Ace for flexibility, even for users with no coding knowledge. These features are powerful but also very easy to learn, with most accessed through a simple point and click interface.

Enhanced Default Graphics RPG Maker VX Ace offers a large collection of new graphics, including 4 tilesets and the long-requested set of fallen character sprites. The engine is also compatible with all of the existing fan-made RPG Maker VX resources.

Export Your Game Once you’re ready to show your project off, you can easily export your game into a portable EXE file that can be played on ANY Windows system. Share it with your friends, family or with the vibrant RPG Maker community on the internet.

This software is an excellent introduction to game-making. While many people don't like RPG Maker games, it's still a great way to start your game development journey - or just to sate your hobbyist tendencies!

I recommend this without reservation - I may never release a game for public, but I love writing short little in-joke games for my family and friends.

For instance, I once wrote a short Kingdom Hearts-themed game for my daughter, which also used characters/settings from Beyond Good And Evil and Final Fantasy 7 and 8. As I understand it, under the terms of the RPG Maker license, the game I wrote WOULD NOT be allowed to be released (even as a fan creation) without paying for all of those character's usage rights - but I didn't make it to sell, I made it for my daughter. And SHE loved it.

PROS:

- Easy to use.- Fairly easy to understand.- Anyone who's fiddled with game editors before should feel right at home.- Plenty of tutorials available.- Great, helpful community, especially on the official website and forums - this was the main selling point for me.- Design is modular (meaning you can work on one aspect of your project at a time, or all at once)- Don't like the Final Fantasy Style battles? Find and download a battle engine to change it to something more like the Zelda games!- Importing custom data (inc. sound and graphics) COULD NOT BE EASIER.- The asking price *includes* a license, meaning you can legally sell your RPG Maker VX Ace game the second you've made it! (there are some understandably strict caveats to this, though)- includes a character maker, ideal for those of us who suck at art (like me).- ACTIVE devs and community!- Don't have the sprite/sound/script/whatever that you want? Try requesting it in the official forums - chances are, somone else has already requested it! - One of the few pieces of software that I own that has NEVER crashed.- Steam Cards! Hey, it matters to me. ;)

CONS:- License is included in the price, but some may consider it limited - for instance, if you make a sprite in this program, that's basically the only place you're allowed to use it (exceptions: or other programs in the RPG/Game Maker stable that you own the license to). So, you can't make sprites in this, then export those sprites to be used in say, a self-made browser-based game. And so too, for ALL the stock assets.- Importing the custom data itself is quite easy - but knowing what to do with it can be confusing at first. For instance, importing a new tileset can be done with 3 button clicks. But then you have to go over the tileset and tell RPG Maker VX Ace which tileblocks the player can walk through, and which they can't, and so on. This makes complete sense once you think about it, but it isn't explained anywhere in game (that I saw).- The DLC isn't like traditional DLC, it can require some real work to set it up (see above for a basic example)- Advanced Developers (I'm not one, so this is a guess) may find certain aspects of the engine restrictive.

People who should buy this software:- Amateur devs- JRPG hobbyist- people curious about the game development process- people who have good ideas for stories- IDEAL for people who want to make their 'first real game'.

People who should avoid this software:- Uh...people who hate JRPGs, I guess?- People who refuse to play nice on forums (because that's where most of your questions will get answered)- People who are allergic to cuteness- People who are allergic to lists- People who actively hate maths and other forms of 'thinking'. I'm not trying to be snide, I swear. Some of us just aren't designed for calculations. Having said that, I actually fit into that category - and I love this software. But it is a fact: planning is part of game making.

Conclusion:

I would basically recommend this software to ANYONE who shows even the slightest bit of interest in it. An excellent and very affordable way to get into game developing - it does exactly what it claims to, and does so quite solidly.

RPG Maker VX Ace is an incredibly powerful tool, not a game. While I found myself immersed for hours and hours creating and editing and editing and editing... this software is meant to create content. Even though is fun, people who lack creativity or try to go about it without a plan (story, settings, character development) might find themselves not enjoying this software as much.

Some lead you to believe that this game creating software is user-friendly and easy to understand, in actuality it is not. Users will find themselves constantly bashing their brains trying to do simple things, looking up tutorials and other means of help.

While still fun be prepared to be challenged. Be creative and have a story in mind. Also, might want to wait for a price drop in the steam store to get the best price as it can be a bit expensive.

The software is great! Lots of tiles and objects you can select from. Also it gives you free things you can use to make your game such as music and game graphics. You dont have to be an artist to create a game, they have an easy charactar builder! If you want you can import your own art into the game but you dont have to. Also when they said no programing needed they were RIGHT! There easy click and drag gui lets you create charactars and there personalties. This software is easy to use and fun!

RPG Maker VX Ace is the newest in the line of RPG Maker toolkits by ASCII and Enterbrain. For anyone who aspires to create games as a hobby or perhaps as a profession, it's certainly a good tool to take a look at. You can easily make the most simple and casual of role playing games with it or you can spend countless hours trying to make your very own masterpiece that you may or may not finish. While there are a few limitations in the software, many have been overcome through community works and scripting, to the point that the primary limitation is your own desire to finish a project.

If you've even had a passing interest at making your own role playing game, this is well worth the purchase. The default graphics are quite usable, the character creation software increases that (my own portrait comes from this software), and there are plenty of free and commercial graphics, music, and scripting packs you can find. So check it out. This is certainly the best RPG Maker to dive in with!

this is an amazing piece of software. the developers are definitley right about the simplicity of RPG maker VX Ace. I love this software, and I am planning to put a game made with this software, on greenlight in 2015-2016.

This is in fact a serious program and it's great for anyone who wants to start making their own games and learn the basic logic behind programming (without the need to be a programmer) and small game development as a whole. The possibilities to customize how your game looks and behaves are ENDLESS.

There is some learning (I estimate that it's about 50 hours to learn the most important things + quite a few complicated ones), but there are TONS of guides. You don't even need to have skills in Ruby, because there are also TONS of scripts out there that contain the option (part of the code) you're looking for. And as for code, you can customize ANYTHING in it... at your own risk...

You want to create a 640x480 jRPG with a MAD amount of possibilities? Use this program. Of course anything else can also be created but I would not recommend using this for anything other than RPG's, adventure games and visual novels.

Also please note that games created with RPG Maker can only work on Windows OS, and I think that this is the biggest downside of this program. Other than that I cannot think of ANY reason not to buy it.

Despite the sometimes unfair reputation that the RPG maker series gets, I will reccommend this to anyone who is interested in creating games, either for a hobby or a commercial endeavor. It is true that there are a lot of poor RPG maker games that remain restricted to what the base engine provides (think default menus, sounds and mapping) but with enough creativity and commitment toward your project there's lots of scope to create a quality game with unique mechanics.

The engine itself is easy to understand, the menus are fairly intuitive so you can pick up most basic skills by just playing around. Most people argue that this is why the RPG series can give way to such low quality games, because it is comparitivley simple to create events and to get what you need your game to do. However the simple systems in place, with creative thinking, can be used to create much more in depth gameplay.

If you have experience in scripting languages or would like to learn at an entry level, RPG Maker VX Ace uses the Ruby Language, which is a fairly easy to start out with. You can use scripts to change many elements of gameplay and add extra depth to your game. Even if you have little interest in scripting, there's a whole community that build resources including scripting to help you add to your project. Many of which are free providing you credit the author.

The art assets are also highly customisable, provided you have a decent graphics editor such as Photoshop or GIMP, you can make beautiful tilesets, characters, maps and menus. Similarly if you lack the skill or patience to create such things, the community also can provide free assets for you to use. Of course there's paid DLC too, for the more hobby orientated user.

The music and sounds are also highly customisable, you can incorporate them in many ways throughout your project. If you are skilled enough you can use your own music and sound effects, or as before use what the community provide. Again, there's paid DLC to fill any gaps you may have in your soundscape.

To sum it up, RPG Maker VX Ace is very accessable but has all the basis for making a sturdy game. Regardless of whether you are a hobbyist or someone hoping to make a Commercial game, your creativity is really what determines how well your game turns out, RPG Maker gives you that sturdy foundation from which to build upon.

Ok I want to write a negative review; specifically for people who see this product and say "hey I can do that." This should not reflect on the quality of resources provided by this software, because i found those from adaquate to exceptional across the board.

If you have a basic understanding of computer codeing, then this may be for you. The language used is very basic but the scripting can still be tricky to master. The manual that you can find on the games website is a bit beirf with seven or eight pdf doccuments.While the resources provided are nice any music or character sprites per made are of course copyrited to the product. You will have to do a good deal of resource creation if you wish to release a game. Finally, I would like to stress that making a computer game takes a TEAM of dedicated individuals on average, several months. If you think your going to buy this product today and put a game out by yourself next week, or even next month then think again.

All this being said I would still recomend this product; but specifically. -To someone cutting their teeth in game design-Who plans to do this, or want to explore this for a career-Who has an intermedeite knowlege of computers and graphic design

There are several solid games out there made by this engine; but they were made by some very talanted people and often groups who had the money and time to invest in a long term project.

RPG Maker VX Ace is software meant to help facilitate users in creating that RPG they have in mind. It's not without it's complexities, however, and they are there.

Back when RPG Maker for the PSX came out, a friend and I got it. We had to have it mailed to us, since no stores sold it. I honestly don't remember how, since it was before I was really on the internet. In any case; it was weeks of anticipation, for what equated to a memory-card hogging, confusing system of software. I think the best we did was have an event that was basically an arena, where one monster at a time would walk to you and start a fight. It was a lot of money for something we quickly found kinda...hard.

Today, though, we can use a keyboard and mouse! Other then that, it's still hard. Like really hard. Not because it's challenging, but because it requires not only putting things together, but learning EXACTLY how to do it. To some, it comes naturally, it's fun, and they put out a couple games. You can find them on the marketplace, too, and play and enjoy them!

But be honest, do you buy RPG maker to play RPGs? No. You buy it to work. You buy it as a swiss army knife with a few thousand different tools, with a house to build. It's all there, but you need to learn how to use it...and that's without worrying about content (Want a sprite not there? You can make it, but it's work!)

I wonder how many people bought it without making even a simple, but complete game. Count me in!

Why, yes, I do have over 2000 hours. It's because my main way of working on my own project is by keeping RM open all the time. Staring at me.

"...Hey. It's not done yet."

"Yea, I know. Here, I'll make a skill I had in mind. That's something done."

"Good, good...I'll be here when you want to make something else."

I've found that RM's forums and Youtube in general have been very helpful. But be forewarned. You're not buying a game. You won't have a great, or even good game just kinda...fit together. You're buying work.

In short, I love procrastinating, and RPG Maker VX Ace is a really fun piece of software to tinker with.

Even though i have so many good ideas, im too lazy to actually make 'em into a game. Even if it looks hard to use from the outside, after a day of playing around with it you learn the basics. If you know ruby scripting, you can make even greater things.

I gotta admit, RPG Maker VX Ace isn't simple for a child, "Simple Enough for a Child. Powerful Enough for a Developer" part of this statement is false, but after watching a few tutorials and learing a bit of the ruby language I started making progress. I had fun learning how to use this piece of software, and I really reccomend using custom scripts in your games if you want to make something good. Includes Trading Cards 10/10

Still the go-to engine for creating 2d RPG's with tile-based movement. It's easy to learn, fun to use, much more powerful than you'd think at first glance, and the community is always overflowing with support and resources. If you've always wanted to make a SNES era JRPG-style game, this is the way to do it.